Dear Friends,
I’m writing to send you some encouragement and good vibes from Boulder as you head into your weekend. The past two months have been exceedingly hard on all of us in the camp industry. We’re all looking for answers to the same questions: Will camp be allowed to operate? If so, how? And even then, do we believe we can pull this off? With the continued uncertainty that clouds our vision, the search for these answers is grueling.
If you’ve been following our blog and connecting with your peers in Brady Bunch-like Zoom sessions, you’ve gotten a sense for how your counterparts at other camps have been thinking about and dealing with all of this. Some of you have made the painful decision to postpone camp to 2021, and many of you are making plans to open. Either way, it’s been far from easy, and it’s so important to have a support system. I’ve always been in awe of the people in our industry and the ways in which they show up for one another. I once heard someone call camp people “the most collaborative competitors in business.” This rings especially true today.
With the hundreds of conversations we’ve had with you over the past several weeks, we’ve become acutely aware of what you’re going through. So, please consider this note a virtual hug from all of us. Not a day goes by that we aren’t thinking of you all.
I also want to take a moment to share with you a thought I’ve been expressing to my team throughout this ordeal:
These times are hard. None of us have ever experienced anything like this before. It’s normal and okay to feel whatever it is you’re feeling. My wish for you is that you allow yourself to experience what you’re feeling, so that you don’t get “stuck”. If you need to laugh, laugh. If you need to cry, cry. If you need to talk to someone, pick up the phone. Please don’t disregard your needs. We’re all stressed and spread thin right now, but remember: You are not alone in this. If there’s any silver lining to this horror story, it’s the reminder of how connected we all really are.
If you need anything, please know all of us at CampMinder are here to serve and support you — even if you just need a listening ear. We’re on your team, now and always.
With love and admiration,
Dan Konigsberg
Founder | CEO, CampMinder